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wind farms 'must take root in uk' Wind farms 'must take root in UK'

Many people support wind farms, but resist them in their local area
Wind power must be made to work in the UK in order to combat climate change, a report by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) has said.
The report maintains it is possible to meet the government's target to have renewables provide 10% of the UK's electricity by 2010.

If wind farms take off, it claims, that figure may rise to 20% by 2020.

The report says wind farms would take up 0.0001% of British land to produce that amount of electricity.

"These things are very small really, at the base," Bernard Bulkin, commissioner and chair of SDC's energy and transport steering group, told the BBC News website.

"And where they've been put on farms, they take less than 5% of the farmer's land for quite a big development, which will provide an income."

Changed landscape

The report's authors accept wind farms will alter the British landscape, but probably not as much as climate change would.

"Climate change will have a devastating impact unless urgent action is taken to boost the contribution of renewables, alongside energy efficiency measures," said SDC chairman, Jonathon Porritt.

"We believe wind power is a critically important part of the overall energy mix, and hope this authoritative guide will ensure wind power is harnessed in the most responsible way to ensure that emissions of carbon dioxide are reduced."

Wind power is a critically important part of the overall energy mix

Jonathon Porritt, SDC chairman
In order to meet its Kyoto target of a 12.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels, averaged over 2008-2012, the UK must look for "cleaner" sources of energy.

According to the report, wind is a prime candidate. The UK has the best and most geographically diverse wind resources in Europe, it says, more than enough to meet current renewable energy targets.

In addition, it is only modestly more expensive than "conventional" energy sources. Indeed, the report claims that as fossil fuel prices increase and wind turbines become cheaper to build, wind power may even become one of the cheapest forms of electricity over the next 15 years.

"Wind power is essential to meet the government's carbon emission targets and also wind will be one of the cheapest forms of energy out there," said Simon Clydesdale, of Greenpeace.

The Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) also supports the expansion of wind farms.

"We think this is great," said NIA spokesperson Ruth Stanway. "We need all the renewable energy we can get. It is not one thing over another: nuclear cannot provide the answer on its own, wind cannot provide the answer on its own; we need everything because [climate change] is a very serious problem."

Narrow approach

However the Renewable Energy Foundation (REF) is dismayed at the report, believing too much focus on wind is a mistake.

"The report leads us to infer that wind turbines will avert climate change, but that is untrue," John Constable, head of policy at the REF, told the BBC News website. "They have something to offer but the question is whether we need to place as much reliance on what is actually a very high impact and costly means of emissions reduction.

"The UK's role globally is to offer a compelling economical example to the developing world. We want China and India to look at us and say: 'That was smart. They reduced their emissions and they stayed rich'. And wind farms are not going to do that."

Mr Constable believes the UK needs to take a broader approach to renewable energy by simultaneously investing in several sources.

"We need a broad basket approach to renewables - and we need to ensure that investment is spread across the entire package," he said. "So that includes tidal and biomass, which at the moment are getting no look-in because the cheapest ticket to the subsidy stream is wind."

Bird kill

Another problem with wind farms is that while many people support the idea of them, they do not want them in their local area.

We don't give blanket support for all wind farms, they have to be sensibly sited

Simon Clydesdale, Greenpeace
The report says that although there is national support for wind farms, there is much local resistance. People feel they will spoil the landscape and there are also concerns they may kill birds.

"People do support wind energy when a survey is put in front of their nose but it's a question of putting that into practice," said Mr Clydesdale.

He said 150,000 people a year were dying because of climate change impact, so people "have to go beyond their subjective visual concerns and look at the broader picture".

However, Mr Clydesdale does point out that it is important to think carefully about wind farm locations. They should not, for example, be placed on bird migratory routes.

"We don't give blanket support for all wind farms, they have to be sensibly sited," he said.

"There is a wind farm in the Isle of Lewis that is being proposed at the moment, that the RSPB are opposing because it may impact migratory routes.

"We do not support that application, because we think a wind farm may not be suitable for that particular location."



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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4560139.stm